Serial Number: | 42-5849 |
Name: | HELL'S BELLES II |
Manufacturer: | Built by the Vega Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of Lockheed Corporation, B-17F-25-VE, Camouflage |
Squadron: | 547th Bombardment Squadron (H) |
Squadron ID Code: | 547th‑SO*N |
Start Date: | 1 April 1943. Original AC. |
Missions: | This aircraft was credited with 11 combat missions with the 384th. |
End Date: | 16 September 1943. Failed to return from combat operations. |
Related Documents: | Missing Air Crew Report # 722⇓ (20.367 MB) |
Photo Album: | Aircraft 42-5849 Photo Album⇗ |
History: | 42-5849 Delivered to Long Beach Army Air Field, California on 20 March 1943. Moved to Sioux City Army Air Base, Iowa on 13 April 1943. Moved to Kearney Army Air Field, Nebraska on 3 May 1943. Moved to Dow Field [Bangor Army Air Field] Maine on 20 May 1943. Assigned to the 547th Bombardment Squadron, squadron code SO*N, 384th Bombardment Group at Grafton Underwood, Station 106, UK on 24 May 1943. The aircraft went missing In Action on a mission to Nantes, France on 16 September 1943 with Pilot Johnny A. Butler, Copilot Herman Wollenweber Jr., Navigator Edward J. Knowling, Bombardier Burnia Martin, Radio Operator Preston A. Davis Tail Gunner Clarence B. Barnes, Six POW; Engineer/Top Turret Gunner Howard J. Turlington Evaded; Ball Turret Gunner Herbert E. May, Waist Gunner Marion C. Rogers and Waist Gunner Walter H. Sword were Killed in Action, 3 KIA. The aircraft was shot down by enemy aircraft and crashed at Rennes, France. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 722. Aircraft Name: HELLS BELLES II |
Bits & Pieces: |
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Number | Date | Target | Results | Mission/Sortie Information |
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1⇗ | 22 June 1943 | Target: General Motors Truck Factory Type: Industry Location: Antwerp, Belgium | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
4⇗ | 28 June 1943 | Target: Fighter Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Beaumont-le-Roger, France | Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off | Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑3235. Sortie Report ⇗ |
5⇗ | 29 June 1943 | Target: duNord Aircraft Works, Villacoublay Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Paris, France | Aborted Mission After Taking Off. | Turned back due to #1 engine failure. Sortie Report ⇗ |
6⇗ | 4 July 1943 | Target: Gnome et Rhone Aircraft Engine Plant Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Le Mans, France | Completed Mission | Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑5838. Frink had taken off in 838, detected a short circuit that made the aircraft unusable for combat, and landed. It took him 20 minutes from landing to taking off again! Sortie Report ⇗ |
-- | 9 July 1943 | Abbeville, France, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
7⇗ | 10 July 1943 | Target: Drucat Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Abbeville, France | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
8⇗ | 14 July 1943 | Target: Villacoublay Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Paris, France | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
9⇗ | 24 July 1943 | Target: Aluminum & Magnesium Plants Type: Industry Location: Herøya, Norway | Completed Mission | Low Squadron deputy. Sortie Report ⇗ |
-- | 26 July 1943 | Hamburg, Germany, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
11⇗ | 28 July 1943 | Target: Aircraft Engine Plant Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Kassel, Germany | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
12⇗ | 29 July 1943 | Target: Naval Base Type: Military Location: Kiel, Germany | Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off | Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑3104. Sortie Report ⇗ |
13⇗ | 30 July 1943 | Target: Aircraft Assembly Plant Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Kassel, Germany | Completed Mission | Landed away at Attlebridge, AAF Station 120, on return, reason unknown. Sortie Report ⇗ |
14⇗ | 12 August 1943 | Target: Synthetic Fuel Hydrogenation Plant Type: Industry Location: Gelsenkirchen, Germany | Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off | Sortie Report ⇗ |
15⇗ | 15 August 1943 | Target: Poix-en-Picardie and Amiens-Glisy Airfields Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Poix-de-Picardie & Amiens, France | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
16⇗ | 16 August 1943 | Target: Le Bourget Airport & Air Depot Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Paris, France | Completed Mission | Pilot and co-pilot wounded in legs by shrapnel. Sortie Report ⇗ |
21⇗ | 6 September 1943 | Type: Industry Location: Stuttgart, Germany | Aborted Mission After Taking Off. | Returned to station early after failure to draw more than 20 inches manifold pressure at 17,000 feet altitude. Sortie Report ⇗ |
22⇗ | 7 September 1943 | Target: Bruxelles-Evere Airfield/Repair Depot Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Brussels / Bruxelles, Belgium | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
23⇗ | 9 September 1943 | Target: Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Lille-Vendeville, France | Aborted Mission After Taking Off. | Turned back due to #2 engine failure. Sortie Report ⇗ |
24⇗ | 16 September 1943 | Target: Blockade Runner Ship (in Loire River) Type: Transportation Location: Nantes, France | Failed To Return | Shot down by enemy aircraft; crashed near Rennes, France; MACR 722. Sortie Report ⇗ |